DeNaples pleads not guilty

Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis DeNaples pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he lied to the state Gaming Control Board about his alleged ties to organized crime.

DeNaples, who was charged Jan. 30 with four counts of perjury, was arraigned by Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover and released on his own recognizance, said DeNaples spokesman Kevin Feeley.

No date was set for a preliminary hearing, said Feeley, and DeNaples was not required to turn over his passport.

''He's innocent and is requesting a jury trial,'' Feeley said.

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico did not return calls for comment.

DeNaples, 67, is accused of lying during testimony in 2006 before the gaming board about his relationship with four people, two of them reputed mobsters.

The charges were recommended by a county grand jury that had been investigating DeNaples since July 2007. More than two dozen people testified before the grand jury, including William D'Elia, the reputed head of the Bufalino crime family.

DeNaples, a wealthy businessman who lives in Dunmore, Lackawanna County, was awarded a gaming license in December 2006 and opened the Monroe County slots parlor in October 2007.

His gaming license was suspended after the charges were filed. The gaming board extended the suspension on Tuesday and named a trustee, former Shippensburg University President Anthony Ceddia, to oversee the casino in Paradise Township.

Feeley said DeNaples arrived for his arraignment Wednesday afternoon with two of his sons, along with attorney Richard Sprague of Philadelphia.

Sprague told Hoover he expects to file motions seeking grand jury transcripts of witness testimony along with the instructions given to the jurors before they voted on the charges.

''We believe the presentment and the charges that are contained therein are really without basis in fact and ridiculous, and we intend to fight them as vigorously as possible,'' Feeley said.

He added that Hoover, who oversaw the grand jury, will not preside over DeNaples' preliminary hearing. ''It wasn't appropriate to set a date after [we] informed the court that motions were coming,'' Feeley said.

Hoover's secretary said the court will release arraignment documents today or Friday.